Guide

Onion prices in India: the three crops, Lasalgaon and why prices jump

Where India's onions come from, how the kharif, late kharif and rabi crops shape prices through the year, what government measures do, what the mandi price means, and the latest prices across markets.

What this guide covers

Onion prices in India can double or halve within weeks, and they make headlines when they do. This guide explains where onions are grown and sold, why prices follow the calendar of three crops, what the mandi price means, and how to read today's prices across markets, with live figures from Agmarknet.

Where India's onions come from

Maharashtra grows the most onions in India, with Nashik district at its centre; Lasalgaon in Nashik is often called Asia's largest onion market, and its prices are watched across the country. Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh are other large producers. Big markets in these states, and city markets such as Mumbai, Delhi's Azadpur, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, report their prices every trading day.

Three crops a year

Onion is grown in three seasons. The kharif crop is planted with the monsoon and harvested from about October to December. The late kharif crop comes in from about January to March. The rabi crop, the largest, is harvested from about March to May; rabi onions keep well, so farmers and traders store them and sell them through the summer and into the autumn.

That calendar explains much of the price pattern. Prices are often lowest when the rabi harvest floods the markets in spring, and tend to rise in the late monsoon and autumn, when stored onions run low and the new kharif crop is not yet in. Heavy or late rain at the wrong moment can damage the kharif crop or stored stock and push prices up sharply.

Government measures

Because onions matter so much in Indian kitchens, governments act when prices swing hard: export duties or limits when prices are high, buffer stocks bought and released to cool prices, and support when prices crash. These steps change the market quickly, so a price can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the weather.

What the mandi price means

Market committees report a minimum, a maximum and a modal price per quintal (100 kg) for each variety. The modal price is the one most of the day's onions sold at, so it is the best single figure. Size, colour and dryness decide where a lot sells: big, firm, well-cured red onions fetch the most. Divide by 100 for the price per kg; shop prices are higher because of grading, transport and retail margins.

Varieties, size and storage

Most onions traded in India are red onions, sold under local names such as Nashik red, Pune red or Bellary red, and graded by size: big bulbs fetch more than medium and small ones. Gujarat also grows white onions, many of them for the dehydration plants around Mahuva in Bhavnagar district that make onion flakes and powder. In the south, small onions (shallots, used in sambar) are a separate product with their own, usually higher, prices.

Rabi onions are cured in the field and then stored for months in ventilated sheds, called kanda chawls in Maharashtra. Stored onions lose weight as they dry, and some sprout or rot, so a trader holding stock expects to sell fewer kilos than they bought. That cost, and the risk of prices falling before the stock is sold, is part of why prices rise as the storage season goes on.

Onions in Hyderabad and the Telugu states

Andhra Pradesh grows onions mainly around Kurnool, and Telangana grows some too, but the big city markets depend heavily on supplies from Maharashtra and Karnataka. Hyderabad's vegetable markets, such as Bowenpally and Gudimalkapur, and Kurnool's market yard report their onion prices to Agmarknet, so a change in Nashik or Karnataka usually shows up in Hyderabad within days, with transport added.

The latest onion prices

On 14 Oct, the median mandi price of onion across the markets that reported it that day was ₹33.05 per kg; 221 markets reported it in the last 30 days. Our onion page lists every state and market, with the lowest and highest prices and charts.

Week by week

Over the last 8 weeks, the weekly median price moved from ₹30.00 per kg (week ending 23 Aug 2026) to ₹32.00 per kg (week ending 11 Oct 2026), a change of +6.7%. Each figure is the median of every price that markets reported that week (Monday to Sunday).

Week ending	Median price	Markets (busiest day)
11 Oct 2026	₹32.00 per kg	147
4 Oct 2026	₹35.00 per kg	152
27 Sep 2026	₹35.00 per kg	149
20 Sep 2026	₹36.00 per kg	152
13 Sep 2026	₹37.78 per kg	148
6 Sep 2026	₹36.50 per kg	154
30 Aug 2026	₹33.00 per kg	145
23 Aug 2026	₹30.00 per kg	166

How to read our onion pages

The onion page shows the median price across India, a table by state, the lowest and highest markets, and a chart of the median over time. State pages list every market in that state, and market pages show that market's main variety with a 30-day table and its own history. Every price carries the date the market reported it.

Common questions

Why is the shop price so much higher than the mandi price? The mandi modal price is what traders pay for bulk lots. Between the mandi and your kitchen come grading, loading, transport, losses from damaged and rotten bulbs, the wholesaler's and retailer's margins and the shop's rent. Many of these costs are fixed, so in percentage terms the gap is often widest when mandi prices are low.

When are onions usually cheapest? Usually around the rabi harvest in spring; they are usually dearest in the late monsoon and autumn, before the kharif crop arrives.

Does a high price in Lasalgaon mean a high price everywhere? Not exactly, but the Nashik markets handle so much of the country's supply that their prices pull the rest of the market along. Our state and market pages let you compare them.

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